South Carolina farmers market to offer organic produce

Tré Coleman, market manager, is pleased to announce that Lennie and Cynthia Mize, the first farmers on South Carolina’s Pee Dee State Farmers Market to offer locally grown organic produce, plan to continue to offer their organic produce in 2008.

The organic produce is grown on Trinity Farms, the Mize’s 22-acre operation in Florence County. The Mizes began to sell their produce at the Pee Dee Market on Saturdays in 2004. They have now been at the market year round for the past two years.

Because the Mizes grow local and sell local, their prices are affordable for average families.

They also raise Golden Comet laying hens that produce Omega-3 eggs. The hens, which are fed organic flaxseed meal, deposit the Omega-3 into the eggs. Flaxseed is high in Omega-3 fatty acids and low in saturated fatty acids. Current research suggests that Omega-3 fatty acids have human health benefits.

The chicken manure from the layer operation is used for crop fertilization.

Trinity Farms’ future plans include increasing the number of layers and egg production which will, in turn, increase the amount of organic fertilizer for crops.

Increasing farm acreage to grow more crops is also in the plan as well as adding a goat dairy to produce goat milk, cheese and yogurt.

For more information about Trinity Farms, contact Cynthia Mize, 1-843-496-0903. For more information about the Pee Dee State Farmers Market, call Tré Coleman or Betty Boykin, 1-843-665-5154.